Senior Associate

Job Summary

The incumbent will assist the development and implementation of category plans by providing in depth, accurate and detailed spend analysis, under the supervision of AVP and SVP Category Management with a focus on driving category performance. The analysis provided will support in managing end-to-end process for the procurement of strategic/critical goods & services, maximization of value and commercial benefit with the aim of optimizing overall procurement performance across all categories. This includes (1) Delivering sustainable value to the business through detailed analysis of global procurement spend; (2) Providing the base data to support development of category strategies (3) Support development of key strategic supplier relationships which drive innovation, through intelligent outputs.

Main Responsibilities

A. Shareholder & Financial:

• Implements KPI's and best practices for Senior Associate, Category Management role.
• Promote cost consciousness and efficiency and enhance productivity, to minimise cost, avoid waste, and optimise benefits for the bank.
• Act within the limits of the powers delegated to the incumbent.

B. Customer (Internal & External):

• Identify and prioritize key categories (through detailed spend analysis) that 'align with/best serve' QNB wider business objectives
• Highlight and support aggregation opportunities for supplier and product/service rationalization
• Develop strong relationships with internal stakeholders (expense owners, end users):
• Create connections with all key stakeholders and promote best in class category management
• Take responsibility and accountability for the assigned category of spend together with being a subject matter expert and role model.
• Support the AVP and SVP Category Management in conjunction with VP Supplier Relationship management as they develop strong vendor management from vendor market analysis to vendor administrative database maintenance and link with TPRM (Third Party Risk Management) on their respective categories.
• Keep abreast of market trends, changes and developments and devise appropriate plans to capitalize on them.
• Combine market intelligence with a deep understanding of existing supplier arrangements and business requirements and monitor the evolving dynamics of the supply market and business needs
• To assist customers in all their queries on Bank's product and seek solution to their requests.
• Maintain activities in accordance with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with internal departments/units to achieve improvements in turn-around time.
• Build and maintain strong/effective relationships with related departments/units to achieve the Group's objectives.
• Provide timely/accurate data to external/internal Auditors, Compliance, Financial Control and Risk when required.

C. Internal (Processes, Products, Regulatory):

• Assist to deliver KPI reporting as required.
• Provide input to SVP Category Management on possible improvements to internal processes & policies based on working experiences and knowledge
• Support scheduling & overseeing meetings related to Category & Sourcing strategy and supplier panel development (or renewal/update).
• Support the development and agreement of the annual procurement plan through effective spend analysis to understand past & ongoing spend and forecast budgetary requirements in commodity categories.
• Support identification of potential areas of risk, and assist planning and implementation of risk mitigation steps.
• Support the development and ongoing optimization of Category & Sourcing Management data, methods and tools:
• Analyze spend data for 'QNB consumption trends' and market data for 'product/service category trends' to inform sourcing strategies

D. Learning & Knowledge:

• Proactively identify areas for professional development of self and undertake development activities.
• Seek out opportunities to remain current with all developments in professional field.

E. Legal, Regulatory, and Risk Framework Responsibilities:

• Comply with the defined Group Procurement Policies and Procedures.
• Comply with all applicable legal, regulatory and internal compliance requirements including, but not limited to, Group Compliance Policies and Procedures (AML & CTF, Sanctions Policy, Data Protection Policy, Fraud Control Policy, Whistle Blowing Policy, Conflict of Interest and Insider Dealing Policy).
• Understand and effectively perform your role under the Three Lines of Defence principle to identify measure, monitor, manage and report risks.
• Ensure systematic good outcomes for clients in accordance with Conduct Risk policy.
• Support the framework of RCSA, KRI, Incident reporting and remediation, as appropriate, in accordance with the Operational Risk Management requirements.
• Maintain appropriate knowledge to ensure full qualification to undertake the role.
• Complete all mandatory training provided by the Bank, attain, and maintain the required levels of competence.
• Attend mandatory (internal and external) seminars as instructed by the Bank.

F. Other:

• Ensure high standards of data protection and confidentiality to safeguard commercially sensitive information.
• Maintaining utmost confidentiality concerning customer and internal bank information obtained during the course of business and provide such information on a need to know basis only to Senior Management of QNB, Audit and Compliance functions, and relevant Regulators.
• Maintain high professional standards to uphold QNB's reputation and to strengthen its market leadership position.
• All other ad hoc duties/activities related to QNB that management might request from time to time.

Education and Experience Requirements

• University graduate (Bachelors) preferably with a Major in the related field of study.
• Minimum 2 years of relevant experience, preferably within a highly rated international bank in data analytics, and good command of data request definition, Excel management.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills (including report writing) in English and Arabic.
• Good interpersonal and presentation skills.
• Understanding of the relevant laws, regulations, and practices.
• Ability to interact with various department to collect and analyse data and information
• Personal integrity and self-management.
• Planning, organising, and analytical ability.
• Proficiency in analytical tools is a plus. (Microsoft Excel, SQL, SAP)
• Self-sufficient and innovative